Chapter Seventeen
“G uess what?” Darby Jane’s blond pigtails bounced as she hopped from one foot to the other in the middle of Jovi’s kitchen.
Jovi and Burke exchanged amused glances.
“Tell me,” Jovi prodded. “I need all the juicy details.” Jovi slid a measuring cup full of sugar closer to the mixing bowl. “But while you’re at it, I need you to climb up here and mix some ingredients. Can you help with that?”
“Yep.” Darby Jane stepped up onto the stool.
“Hold on.” Jovi quickly intervened and pushed Darby Jane’s sleeves up to her elbows. They’d hand-sanitized thoroughly before they started baking sugar cookies. “Your shirt is so cute. I would hate to get flour or sugar on those ruffles.”
Darby Jane’s pink-and-white top had adorable ruffles on the cuffs, and she had a bow pinned at a jaunty angle on the top of her head. What a cutie.
“Thank you.” Darby Jane tucked her tongue in her cheek and reached for the sugar. “Can I pour this in now?”
Jovi nodded. “Okay, where were we? You wanted to tell me about those boys in your class who tricked your teacher?”
Darby Jane added the sugar to the eggs and butter in the bowl. “They hid toothpaste in her Oreos.”
Jovi grimaced. “Are you serious? What happened when she ate the cookie?”
“It was yuck.” Darby Jane scrunched up her face and shook her head. “I thought she was going to be sick in the trash can.”
“Oh, dear.” Jovi looked at Burke, who sat at the table holding a cup of coffee.
He’d just taken a bite of a chocolate truffle she’d brought home from the candy company. “What’s going to happen to the boys?”
“Big trouble,” Darby Jane declared, stirring the ingredients together like a professional.
Burke cleared his throat. “There will be consequences. Maybe some in-school suspension or handwritten apologies.”
“That’s quite a prank,” Jovi said. “Did you prank people like that when you were a kid?”
His cheeks turned red, then he cut his eyes toward Darby Jane.
Ah, a silent plea for a subject change. She bit back a smile. “I don’t like pranks.”
“Me either,” Darby Jane said.
“Let’s see. What’s the next step?” Jovi slid the recipe card closer. “We need to—”
“Oh, wow,” Darby Jane said. “These look like the recipes at my house.”
Darby Jane’s words made her scalp prickle. “What recipes at your house?”
Burke’s sudden stillness only added to the confusion swirling in her body.
“We have recipe cards sort of like this.” Darby Jane tapped her finger on the stained card. “The little pictures of the trees match. Daddy found them inside the dollhouse that was in the shed behind the cabin.”
This didn’t make sense. Why hadn’t he said something? “You found a dollhouse filled with recipes?”
“Yeah, it’s huge. So heavy Daddy can’t carry it.
” Darby Jane let go of the spatula just long enough to spread her arms as far as they possibly could go.
“And we found a stack of cards with fancy handwriting. It’s cursive.
The kind I can’t read yet. There’s a note and an old picture of two ladies too. ”
Her whole body trembled. Jovi turned to face Burke. “Anything you’d care to share?”
Guilt swam in his eyes. “There is a dollhouse in the shed.”
“That tracks. Mac was a master woodworker. But that’s not the part of the story that interests me the most.” Jovi fought to keep her voice from rising. “You found a photo and some recipes that look like this?” She held up her grandmother’s recipe for sugar cookies.
Burke’s features had turned ashen. He managed a brief nod.
“There’s a whole stack,” Darby Jane said. “Candy recipes. Right, Daddy? I forget the names, but there’s a lot. Miss Jovi, what’s the next step?” She craned her neck to see the card.
A wave of betrayal crashed over her. How well did she really know him? Was he hiding something from her? The weight of suspicion pressed down on her shoulders as she fought to maintain her composure.
“Burke, we’ve talked about this. You do know that I’m looking for a recipe, right?”
“You may have mentioned that, yes. I didn’t find any recipes for candy made with caramel, though.”
“But you’re well aware that our families have had some issues.
” She stopped before she revealed any more information than Darby Jane needed to know.
Her fingers trembled as she tucked her hair behind her ears.
His calm demeanor infuriated her. How could he just sit there, sipping his coffee, when she was on the edge of unraveling?
Burke stared down at his coffee. “I’m aware.”
“So when were you planning to share that you had recipes that belong to my family?”
“Who says they belong to your family?” Burke’s chin lifted. His steely gaze sparked with something that resembled doubt. Or maybe defiance? “They could be my aunt’s recipes.”
“Whose handwriting are they in?” Her voice sounded sharp. Accusatory. Not that she was even the least bit sorry, because he’d intentionally withheld the facts from her.
“Looks like it’s Lois’s.”
“So are you implying that my grandmother stole your aunt’s recipes?”
“I’m not saying anything for sure,” Burke said quietly, his gaze locked with hers.
“Your grandmother and my aunt are in the photo labeled 1960. Darby Jane’s correct.
The cards all have an Evergreen Candy Company heading and the same icon that yours have—three trees in a cluster.
But I’m holding on to the recipes until we get this all sorted, since I found them on property that belongs to my family. ”
Jovi’s hands clenched into fists at her sides. What was he saying? The candy company had been owned by the Wrights for three generations. “Maybe the recipes belong to my family since we started the candy company.”
“Remember what Walker said? What if Lois came up with the original recipes and then your grandmother swiped them then made and sold the candy as her own?”
His words stabbed her. “You cannot be serious. You’re withholding information because you think that my family is complicit in some sort of intellectual property scandal?”
“Those are your words, not mine, and I don’t know what to think, Jovi.
That’s why I didn’t tell you. The ingredients listed on the recipes are for hard candy.
Ingredients you might still use in your products now.
Molasses, root beer, honey. By the way, the note clipped to the recipes says the dollhouse is for the Wright girls and their families. ”
A mixture of anger and hurt simmered inside. “That’s totally irrelevant. Besides, I don’t want or need a dollhouse.”
“Are we going to make these now?” Darby Jane tugged on Jovi’s sleeve. “What’s the next thing we put in?”
Burke shoved back his chair and stood. “I think we’d better be going, Darby Jane.”
“Daddy, no.” Darby Jane’s eyes welled with tears, and her chin wobbled.
Jovi’s heart ached. Poor thing. She’d been caught in the middle. “Why don’t you go on home. I’ll bring Darby Jane over when we’re done.”
Burke hesitated. “Are you sure?”
“There’s no need to deprive her of the chance to bake. I told her we would do this together, so I want to keep my word. When she’s finished, I’ll walk her home with the cookies.”
Regret filled Darby Jane’s eyes. “I’m sorry that I made you mad, Miss Jovi.” She looked at Burke. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No, sweetie. It’s not your fault at all.” She tried to keep her voice light and gave her a reassuring smile. Turning to Burke, she said, “I’ll bring her over in about an hour.”
He nodded tersely and brushed by her, his shoulders stiff and his jaw clenched.
“This is a grown-up situation, baby girl. We’ll figure it out.” He kissed the top of Darby Jane’s head. “Be good. I’ll see you soon.”
He left without another word. Jovi stared after him. He’d deceived her. How could he accuse her family of stealing? And why was he so hesitant to share those recipes?
* * *
What had he done?
Burke paced the cabin, panic sluicing through his veins.
Why hadn’t he coached Darby Jane not to tell anyone about their discovery?
And how had she noticed the similar details on the recipe cards, anyway?
He’d tried to be cautious when he’d removed them.
Then he’d stashed the whole stack away in a cupboard and only gave them a second look when she wasn’t around.
Not that it mattered now. She’d spilled all their secrets tonight, and he didn’t know how to fix it.
Thinking about the look on Jovi’s face still made him wince.
This wasn’t how he’d wanted her to find out, and he couldn’t blame her for being angry.
He’d never intended to keep the truth from her forever.
But after their conversation with Walker and his research about historic feuds in Evergreen, he’d needed more time.
Time to investigate. Time to make sure that the Wrights hadn’t stolen something from his aunt and uncle.
This whole thing was so convoluted. Especially since he didn’t really know if he could trust Jovi.
She’d given him no reason to be suspicious.
But what if the recipes had belonged to Mac and Lois all along?
Did he have a valid reason to claim them as his own? Did a recipe have a copyright? He wasn’t about to get a lawyer involved or anything, but it seemed like there was more to the story than what he had discovered so far.
He massaged the ache throbbing in the center of his forehead.
He’d been so flustered by Darby Jane’s revelation and Jovi’s reaction that he hadn’t been able to formulate a reasonable defense.
Yeah, okay, so from her perspective he wasn’t exactly surprised that she felt betrayed.
His stomach cinched into a hard knot. He raked his hand through his hair.
How could he uncover the truth and convince Jovi not to hate him?